Gay Rights Stack

There have been a couple of stories over the weekend that fall into my Gay Rights file, and I feel that as a believer in equal rights for everybody, I have to comment.

First up: Dad Wants $20K, Says Lesbian Book Disturbed Teens

A Bentonville, Ark., man is seeking $20,000 from the city after his two teenage sons found a book on lesbian sex on a public library bookshelf.

He also wants the library director fired.

Earl Adams said his 14- and 16-year-old sons were "greatly disturbed" after finding the book, titled "The Whole Lesbian Sex Book." Adams said the book caused "many sleepless nights in our house."

Adams said the book is "patently offensive and lacks any artistic, literary or scientific value," according to a letter he faxed to Mayor Bob McCaslin. He said the teenagers found it while browsing for material on military academies.

Adams wants the city to pay $10,000 to each of his sons. That's the maximum allowed under the Arkansas obscenity law. However, the city's attorney dismissed Adams' claim as baseless. She said the book is not pornographic.

"There is not a valid legal concern here," Camille Thompson said. "In fact, (the request for money) made me question his motivation."

Yeah, I'm sure that two teenage boys were "disturbed" by finding the book. As a former teenage boy and current heterosexual, I believe, nay, I know that there is not a hot-blooded heterosexual male out there that would find two women together "disturbing," unless the "disturbance" was in their pants. Yeah yeah, all you Alec Baldwins out there can call me a pig; I just remember how I was when I was 16. I agree with Camille Thompson in that I think that this is a money-making ploy, and I think that the "many sleepless nights" at that house were for completely different reasons.

Adams further said "[a]ny effort to reinstate the book will be met with legal action and protests from the Christian community." So Bentonville is now under threat of theocracy. Seriously, when is America going to wake up to the real threat to our country: Christian extremist ideologues? If you are a Christian extremist, and you feel like the public library is offensive, then don't go there. Not everyone in this wonderful country of ours believes in the same things you do, and not everyone agrees with your version of morality. I hope that if legal action does come of it, they lose and have to reimburse the taxpayers for wasting the city's time.

Onto the other story: 'Transgender' Candidate on Prom King Ballot

FRESNO, California (AP) -- When school officials announce the name of the Fresno High School prom king on Saturday, Cinthia Covarrubias will be wearing a tuxedo just like the six boys vying for the honor.

Administrators agreed to reverse a district protocol this week that limited males to compete for the title after Covarrubias was nominated by her classmates.

"I would never have run for anything if I had to wear a dress," said Covarrubias, who considers herself transgender, an umbrella term that covers people whose outward appearance and internal identity don't match their gender at birth.

Gay youth advocates called it a landmark victory for campus gender expression and said they believe it's the first time in the United States that an openly transgender student has run for prom royalty.

"We are growing as a society to accept much more diversity in gender expression, and that's a positive thing," said Carolyn Laub, director of the Gay-Straight Alliance Network.

Covarrubias, who wears black-and-white Vans, baggy shorts and close-cropped brown hair, sometimes identifies herself as Tony. Her date, a close female friend, plans to wear a black dress and red corsage to the prom at an outdoor reception hall surrounded by artificial waterfalls.

On Wednesday, officials at the school of 2,700 students shifted course, saying the district's lawyers had recommended adding Covarrubias' name to the ballot to comply with a 2000 state law protecting students' ability to express their gender identity on campus.

"We always want to do the right thing by our students," Vice Principal Sheila Uriarte said. "This is why we came to this decision."

I'm glad that California is leading the way for gay and transgender rights in this country. It also seems as though most people in her age group also approve of Cinthia running for prom king. CNN, being a true fair and balanced news channel, also had opposing views, or rather, an opposing view:

"I like lesbians, but they shouldn't be allowed to run for king," said senior Erich Logan, 18, as he stood outside the stately high school building.

Once again, public schools have to cater to all points of view (or they should), not just those that are confined to traditional heterosexual Christian values. Studies have shown that each generation that passes has a more favorable view of homosexuality, making this current young generation the most liberal with respect to those values. As I am a part of that generation, I couldn't be prouder.

The Declaration of Independence uses the phrase "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness;" this includes homosexuals living just like the rest of us, including getting married (yes, married), having children, and receiving medical benefits and inheritance rights. Why is equal rights (not so-called "special" rights) for gays so hard for right-wingers to understand? I guess they believe in the credo from Animal Farm: "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others." Quite frankly, that viewpoint is out-of-touch with reality and pathetic.

~ Deep Blue

Update (9:44 AM PDT): As it turns out, story #2 in the Gay Rights stack is scheduled to be covered by Bill Manders today, according to the KKOH website (see the right panel). I can't wait to hear his take, although I can take a stab at what it is. I just hope that he doesn't regurgitate that whole "the Bible says..." argument, or worse, links it to Seung-Hui Cho somehow.

Update (3:20 PM PDT): False alarm on the Manders Watch. Today is a "best-of" episode of Bill Manders from April 4th, 2007 because he is sick. Maybe tomorrow.